1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to induction furnaces. More particularly, the invention relates to induction furnaces which utilize a plurality of induction coils for heating adjacent sections of the furnace. Specifically, the invention relates to the use of inner and outer faraday rings disposed between adjacent induction coils to prevent mutual induction between the adjacent induction coils.
2. Background Information
Induction furnaces are well-known in the art and typically utilize one or more induction coils to heat the furnace via a susceptor or via direct inductive heating of the load within the furnace. Pusher furnaces or the like involve a plurality of sections which form an elongated passage through which the load is conveyed in order to most typically provide continuous heating of the load within heating sections of the furnace. Faraday rings are well known for reducing the mutual induction between the pair of adjacent induction coils. However, current known arrangements are not able to sufficiently eliminate the mutual inductance between the coils which is necessary to independently operate the induction coils for a variety of purposes. The present invention addresses this and other problems.